1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game apparatus, game system, and recording medium, and particularly to a card game apparatus, card game system, and card game recording medium for playing a card game. The present invention also relates to an image display method capable of displaying images peculiar to this card game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, proposals have been made about various kinds of card games wherein cards are prepared as card hands for each player. Usually, such cards include a plurality of cards having mutually different attributes and ability indexes and are given the life points (hereinafter abbreviated to LP) to players. Each card game is played until the life points of either one of the players becomes xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d by locating these cards at determined places (for example, the specification in U.S. Pat. No. 5662332).
The applicant, meanwhile, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 2000-157744, earlier has proposed a card game for a portable game machine which can be enjoyed in the form of a video game. In that card game, each player selects cards having differing ability indexes and functions, from many types of the cards and plays those at prescribed places set on the screen of the portable game machine. The cards placed at the prescribed places by the players are compared with each other by the use of such as a computer in the portable game machine. Thereafter, the winner is determined by the relative superiority of the cards. In this card game also, cards are mutually played out until the life points of one player becomes xe2x80x9c0.xe2x80x9d This card game can be played by a single player while viewing the display screen of a liquid crystal display (LCD) in the portable game machine. In addition, it can also be played between a plurality of players by communicating with other portable game machines by infrared light, etc.
Description will be made this more specifically about the card game previously proposed. In the card game, a first player can arrange five cards in a first player hand card area predetermined for his or her own hand while a second or opponent player can also five cards in a second or an opponent hand card area. Such first and second player hand card areas are determined in the upper and lower portions of a liquid crystal display screen. In addition, an area on the screen excluding the first player hand card area and the opponent hand card area is determined as a playing field which might be called a playing arena for playing the game. In this case, cards are arranged face down in the first player hand card area and the opponent hand card area. Cards laid face down on the playing arena during a battle, are turned face up, and the relative superiority of the cards is determined. In this condition, the player can view the cards placed on the playing arena by the opponent, and can confirm the relative superiority of cards placed by himself or herself.
The cards in the card game described in the foregoing are categorized into a plurality of monster cards, magic cards, and field or terrain cards. Among others, the monster cards have predetermined offensive and defensive ability indexes while the magic cards affect the monster cards on the playing arena when they are placed from the hand card area into the playing arena. In addition, field cards determine the field of battle, and, in each battle field, modify the offensive and defensive ability indexes of the monster cards. In this card game, moreover, it is permissible to locate a plural number of cards from the hand card area onto the playing arena in one turn.
As described in the foregoing, by permitting a plural number of cards placed onto the arena during one turn, numerous variations can be provided in the card game. For example, when the combination of a plurality of monster cards placed during one turn is identical with a certain combination, the plurality of the cards can be merged into a single card which has different offensive and/or defensive ability indexes from the placed cards. In addition, when a combination of a monster card and a magic card fulfills certain conditions, reinforcement can be executed to get a monster card which has a higher ability index. In this way the card game can be made more interesting.
Now, the card game proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 2000-157744 prepares seven hundreds (700) species of cards each of which is composed of ninety-nine (99) pieces. This enables to use a total number of 69,300 cards. Of these cards, 300 are stored in the storage unit, which may be called xe2x80x9cBriefcasexe2x80x9d in this card game. For a game, a card pile, that is, a xe2x80x9cdeckxe2x80x9d is formed of 40 cards extracted from the xe2x80x9cBriefcase.xe2x80x9d The 40 cards in the xe2x80x9cdeckxe2x80x9d are shuffled, and five cards each are dealt to the player himself or herself and deployed in the first player hand card area.
In the case of the card game described in the foregoing, moreover, there are magic cards which, when played on the arena, exhibit special effects such as inflicting damage on an opponent or restoring one""s own life points. Among these magic cards are special cards called trap cards which automatically become effective when the attack of an opponent satisfies certain conditions. These magic cards are normally deployed face down in a prescribed location. A specific magic card exhibits its effects when it is turned face up, or when a monster card deployed on the arena satisfies certain conditions.
The card game proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 2000-157744, however, as noted earlier, considers only applications to portable game machines.
Meanwhile, various game machines are being proposed and widely used as game machines which can execute games according to a program stored in a recording medium. Accordingly, it is desirable in the interest of increased demand and so forth that the card games be made such that they can be enjoyed not only exclusively on portable game machines, but also on various type of home video game machine or commercial video game machine.
With the card games mentioned in conjunction with the portable game machines, a plural number of cards can only be placed only when the cards are deployed in the hand card areas of the players. Thereafter, they are moved onto the arena. With this structure, it is possible to manifest such special effects as merge or reinforcement, etc. Thus, the special effects can only be manifested when the cards are placed onto the arena in the above-mentioned card games. This results in spoiling a fun in the card game in view of strategy.
On the other hand, it is assumed that permission is made without restriction about both using magic cards and effecting reinforcement or merge and the like by placing a plural number of cards. In this event, interest in each player might be directed to gathering up specific magic cards and also only to expecting the special effects. As a consequence, there will be a danger that the strategic quality of the card game will be impaired, and that the number of turns will be diminished so that the interest of each player in the card game is reduced.
An object of the present invention is to provide a card game system which is not limited to a portable game machine but also is applicable to both a general home game machine and an arcade game machine, such as a business use game machine, and which is able to further enhance player interest in the card games.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a card game system wherewith a plurality of players can engage in card games while using a common display unit.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a card game system which can enhance the strategic element in card games while also making it possible to prevent merge, reinforcement, and specific magic cards from being overused.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image display method for conducting card games involving a high degree of strategy.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium which is capable of being read by a computer, and which stores a program necessary for the card game system and image display method described in the foregoing.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game system for use in executing a card game in accordance with a card game procedure which is divided into a hand card process sequence for arranging cards in a hand card area displayed on a screen and an arena card process sequence for arranging cards in an arena card area displayed on the screen; the game system comprising; input means for inputting control signals on the basis of manipulation of each player; and image display control means for performing processing to display images relating to the card game, in accordance with to the control signals and the card game procedure; wherein the image display control means comprises detection means, operable in the hand card process sequence, for detecting that an arrangement of a plurality of cards placed on the hand card area is matched with a prescribed combination, processing means for processing the arrangement the cards on the hand card area to display, on the screen, effects which correspond to the arrangement of the cards on detecting the match between the arrangement and the prescribed combination, and means for decreasing life points of each player as taxes on detecting the match between the arrangement and the prescribed combination.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card game system for use in executing a card game in accordance with a prescribed card game procedure, with images displayed on a display device; the card game system comprising: input means for inputting control signals in response to manipulation of each player; and image display control means, responsive to the control signals, for carrying out processing to display card game images on the display device in accordance with the card game procedure; the image display control means comprising: detection means, responsive to the control signals, for detecting whether or not the predetermined card combinations are indicated in the card game to produce occurrence of the predetermined card combinations; tax imposition means for imposing taxes on the player; and a processing unit for carrying out processing to display, on the card game images, effects associated with the occurrence of the predetermined card combinations; the tax imposition means comprising a computation unit for subtracting the taxes from life points of the player when the predetermined combinations are caused to occur; the image display control means displaying the effects produced due to the predetermined card combination before each card is placed on an arena.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game system for conducting a card game in accordance with a card game procedure which is divided into a hand card sequence for arranging cards in a hand card area displayed on a screen and a arena card sequence for arranging cards in a arena card area displayed on the screen; wherein cards used in the card game include a plurality of monster cards each of which has its own ability index; and magic cards that bring about prescribed effects on those monster cards; the card game system comprising: input means for inputting control signals; and image display control means, responsive to the control signals, for carrying out processing to display images relating to the card game in accordance with the card game procedure: the image display control means comprising: means for determining whether the magic cards are located in the hand card sequence, face up or face down; and means for reducing, as a tax, life points of a player who turns the magic cards face down.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium for storing a program for conducting a card game in accordance with a card game procedure which is divided into a hand card process sequence for arranging cards in a hand card area displayed on a screen and an arena card process sequence for arranging cards in a arena card area displayed on the screen; the program comprising the steps of: detecting, in the hand card process sequence, that an arrangement of the plurality of cards located on the hand card area is identical with a prescribed combination; carrying out processing to display effects corresponding to that prescribed combination on the screen, when the arrangement is identical with the prescribed combination; and reducing life points of players as taxes on detection of the prescribed combination.
According a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display method for displaying images on a display device to conduct a card game in accordance with a card game procedure that is divided into a hand card process sequence for deploying cards in a hand card area and an arena card process sequence for locating cards on an arena card area; the method comprising the steps of: detecting that, in the hand card process sequence, an arrangement of the plurality of cards placed on the hand card area is matched with a prescribed combination; carrying out processing to display, on the screen, effects corresponding to that prescribed combination on detecting the match between the arrangement and the prescribed combination,; and reducing life points of players as taxes on detecting the prescribed combination; the effects on the screen being activated prior to the arena card process sequence.